İdea Generation

1) Choose the type of article that best suits the topic you want to write:

News article: It is used to write the latest news containing 5N 1K facts.
Main article: It offers more creative and descriptive information than a plain news article. It can be about a person, phenomenon or a place.
Explanatory article: Articles that give descriptive instructions on how to use a piece of information or a technique.
Profile aricle:  They are articles written about a person’s interviews and work.

2) Brainstorm about your topic

Make a list of your potential topics. Narrow your topic as much as possible to write a coherent and original article. Ask yourself these questions:

*What interests me about this topic?
*What are the overlooked points on this subject?
*What do you want people to know about it?

3) Choose a topic you are wonder in

You should care about the topic you choose to write about. Your ability to convey your excitement will attract readers’ attention. Your goal should be to make the reader feel that the subject in your article should be taken seriously.

4) Do preliminary research

If you are not familiar with your subject, you should do some preliminary research. You can use search engines such as Google academic and pubmed for this. You should do as much reading as possible. You can benefit from local libraries, published interviews and articles.

5) Consider the subject from a different angle:

If you are writing an article on a subject written by other people, you should approach the subject in a different way than they do. Consider how you can make the article stand out.

6) Set an argument

For a quality article you need a quality argument. Author finds evidence to support her argument in the article. Summarize your argument in one sentence. For example:

In neck pain, thoracic mobilization should be performed in addition to cervical mobilization. This makes it easier for you to focus on the subject.

WHEN DOING RESEARCH

 

1) Learn about your argument

Go beyond your preliminary research. Find out the pros and cons, what the experts say and research on these key issues.

2) Gather supporting evidence:

Start collecting information to support your overall argument. You should collect about 3-5 intact specimens. As you gather more evidence, you will understand which ones are stronger and you will prioritize them.

3) Gather reliable sources

Be careful when researching online. Use only sources such as reputable newspapers, relevant experts, university websites, reliable magazines. Before assuming one source is correct, see if it is supported by several sources.

4) List your sources

Always write down where you found your sources. The source’s bibliographic information usually includes the author’s name, the title of the article, the title of the publication, the year, the page number, and the publisher. MLA, APA, and Chicago are some of the most common citation styles.

5) Avoid plagiarism

Do not copy text directly from another source. Instead, rephrase this text or add a quote. While taking notes from an article, carefully which writing i yours or not.

OUTLINING SPECIFICATION

1) Decide on the length of the article:

If you have a word limit or page limit, plan how you will describe the subject accordingly.

2) Consider your audience:

You need to consider who will read your article, reading levels, interests and expectations.

3) Summarize your article:
Write a draft of your article before you officially start writing it.
4) Use quotes and ther methods to support your evidence:

You’ll probably find enough information to support what you’re saying. This could be a phrase someone used or a sentence in an article. Make sure that the sentence you are quoting is in quotation marks. Be selective about your citations and choose the most comprehensive. Do not quote too much. This creates the image in your reader that you are hiding behind what others have written rather than supplementing your own material.

WRITE YOUR ARTICLE

1) Type your entry

A stunning intro paragraph is essential to hooking your reader. In the first few sentences, the reader will decide whether your entire article is worth reading. There are several ways to start an article, some of which are:

*Telling a joke.
*Using a quote from an interview topic.
*Starting with a statistic.
*Starting with the plain facts of the situation.

2) Follow your outlines:

You have prepared your article in draft form and this will help you focus on writing a solid and coherent article.

3) Give appropriate context

Consider the types of background information your reader needs to understand the topic. Depending on the type of article, you may provide a paragraph with background information before moving on to your supporting evidence.

4) Show with explanation:

Use meaningful and descriptive language to give the reader a good picture of what you are writing. Choose descriptive verbs and definite adjectives carefully.

5) Include transitions

Relate each idea to transitions so that it reads as a cohesive piece of your article. Start each new paragraph with a transition that connects it to the previous paragraph. For example;

‘’However’’
“Another important point’’   Use words or phrases like..

 

6) Pay attention to style and structure

 

You will want to write with a style and structure that makes sense for the type of article you are writing. Assess your audience to determine what would be the best method to present your information to them. For example, a newspaper article will need to present information in a narrative, chronological format. It should be written in accessible and understandable language. An academic paper will be written in a more formal language. The how-to article can be written in a more informal language. As you write your article, use a strong “pinning” sentence at the beginning of each paragraph to push your reader forward. Also, change the length of your sentences to both short and long.

7) Write a compelling conclusion

 

Complete your article with a dynamic conclusion. Depending on your article, this could be a reader-enhancing conclusion. If you started with an anecdote or statistic in your introduction, consider relinking to that point in your conclusion. Results are often stronger when they use a final, short concrete example that leads the reader to new insights.

 

8) Consider adding supplementary material

 

You can help your reader understand your topic more clearly by adding graphics or other supplementary material. For example, you can add photos, charts or infographics to illustrate some of your points. You can further emphasize or enhance an important point with a sidebar-type box. This is an extra post that delves deeper into one aspect of the topic. For example, if you’re writing about your city’s film festival, you can add a sidebar caption highlighting one of the movies. Remember, these materials are complementary. This means your article should stand alone. Your writing needs to be understandable, clear and focused, without the aid of graphics, photos or other graphics.

COMPLETING THE STUDY

 

1) Edit your work

Take some time to edit and correct your article. If time permits, wait a day or two before editing. This will give you some distance from your article. Then you will be able to see your article with new eyes. Take a close look at the central argument or point you are trying to make. Does everything in your article serve this central argument? Do you have an unrelated paragraph? If so, this paragraph should be eliminated or reframed to support the main argument. Eliminate conflicting information from the article or address the contradictions to show how the conflicting information is relevant to readers. Rewrite sections or everything as needed. Fixes like this are common for all article types, so don’t feel like you’re a failure or incompetent.

 

2) Fix typos

Even if an article is well written, it will not be taken seriously if it has grammatical errors or typos. Make sure your writing is strong by clearing your grammar. It’s helpful to print a hard copy of your article. Go with a pen or pencil to catch mistakes. Then go back and fix these errors on the computer.

 

3) Read your article out loud for yourself

 

Listen for tone, rhythm, sentence length, coherence, grammatical or content errors, and compelling arguments. Think of your writing as a piece of music, an auditory experience, and use your ears to assess quality, strengths and weaknesses. It’s common to describe your own mistakes as grammar or writing when reading aloud; this can reduce the feedback you might get from someone else.

 

4) Ask someone else to read your article

 

Try showing the article to a friend, teacher, or other trusted person to read it.

*Does this person understand the points you are trying to convey?

*Does it follow your logic?

*This person can also catch errors and inconsistencies that you ignore.

 

5) Write a title

 

Give your article an appropriate title. A title should be action-oriented and convey why the story is important. It should take readers and draw them into the article. If you want to give a little more information, write a subtitle. This is a secondary sentence based on the headline.